Mike the Golfer#

Micheal Marshall first played golf as a youngster in 1962 at Gleneagles Golf Course, just down the road from his childhood home in West Vancouver. This municipal 9-hole course introduced him to the game, and sparked a passion that would last a lifetime. Over the next 60 years (and counting), Mike would play over 1000 different golf courses, and over 5000 rounds of golf. He would spend the majority of this time as a scratch golfer or low handicapper. A golfer who was commonly the envy of his foursome, especially his crafty short game.

This section gives a general overview of the courses Mike has played, including his best and worst ranked courses.

“Golf is assuredly a mystifying game. It would seem that if a person has hit a golf ball correctly a thousand times, he should be able to duplicate the performance at will. But such is certainly not the case.”

—Bobby Jones

Interesting Stats#

1028

Total golf courses played

74.9

Lifetime average score

30,000

Kilometres walked

400,000

Golf swings (including putts)

94

Worst score at new course (Prestwick GC)

62

Best score at new course (Mountain Brook GC)

65.08° N

Northernmost course: Vikurvollur GC, Stykkisholmur, Iceland

-45.89° S

Southernmost course: St. Clair GC, Dunedin, New Zealand

Map of Courses Played#

The map below shows all of the golf courses played around the world. You can scroll and zoom the map as desired, and hover over points to see the name of the golf course. Countries are also colour coded based on the number of courses played.

Make this Notebook Trusted to load map: File -> Trust Notebook

Career in Numbers#

Total Number of Courses Played

As of 2024, Mike has played 1028 different golf courses in 23 different countries

The plots below show the number of new golf courses played each year, and the cumulative number of new courses played (dashed line). The added plot on the right shows the number of courses played in each country.

There are three noticeable lulls in new courses played. The first was during the early years, prior to 1972. The second lull coincided with the arrival of the kids (at least the first three kids). And the final lull was a result of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020-2022. In 2020, the only new course played was the Winchelsea View course in Lantzville.

The Best of the Best#

Below is a list of Mike’s top rated courses played. All of these courses have a personal rating of 9.5 (out of 10) or higher. It is quite a comprehensive list of some of the most famous and prestigious golf courses in the world.

Course Name City Country Year Played Holes Personal Rating Best Score World Rank US Rank
0 Cypress Point Golf Club Monterey USA 2015 18 11.0 72 ~ 3.0
1 Royal County Down GC Newcastle UK 1988 18 11.0 74 1.0 ~
2 Muirfield Gullane UK 1972 18 10.0 86 7.0 ~
3 Olympic Lake Course San Francisco USA 1986 18 10.0 79 ~ 35.0
4 The Old Course St Andrews UK 1972 18 10.0 76 9.0 ~
5 Pacific Dunes GC Bandon USA 2004 18 10.0 76 ~ 21.0
6 Bandon Dunes GC Bandon USA 2010 18 10.0 75 ~ 40.0
7 Pine Valley GC Clementon USA 1997 18 10.0 75 ~ 1.0
8 Pebble Beach Links Pebble Beach USA 1995 18 10.0 75 ~ 12.0
9 Royal Portrush GC -- Dunluce Portrush UK 1988 18 10.0 75 8.0 ~
10 Ballybunion Old Ballybunion Ireland 1988 18 10.0 72 18.0 ~
11 Royal Dornoch GC Dornoch UK 1972 18 10.0 77 3.0 ~
12 Royal Birkdale Southport UK 1972 18 10.0 81 17.0 ~
13 Carne GC Belmullet Ireland 2016 27 10.0 81 ~ ~
14 Sunningdale Old Sunningdale UK 1972 18 10.0 80 15.0 ~
15 The National Golf Club Woodbridge Canada 1990 18 10.0 79 22.0 ~
16 Turnberry -- Ailsa Turnberry UK 1972 18 10.0 82 13.0 ~
17 Capilano Golf and Country Club West Vancouver Canada 1965 18 10.0 65 76.0 ~
18 Torrey Pines -- South San Diego USA 1986 18 9.7 73 ~ ~
19 Pinehurst #2 Pinehurst USA 1988 18 9.5 85 ~ 29.0
20 Ballyliffin Glasheddy Ballyliffin Ireland 2015 18 9.5 80 ~ ~
21 Macrihanish GC Macrihanish UK 1992 18 9.5 70 64.0 ~
22 New South Wales GC Le Perouse Australia 1977 18 9.5 77 14.0 ~
23 Rosapenna Sandy Hills ~ Ireland 2013 18 9.5 86 ~ ~
24 Mid Ocean GC ~ Bermuda 1989 18 9.5 74 33.0 ~
25 Trevose GC Constantine Bay UK 2009 18 9.5 77 ~ ~
26 Chambers Bay GC Tacoma USA 2009 18 9.5 76 ~ ~
27 Mauna Kea Beach GC Hawaii USA 1976 18 9.5 80 ~ ~
28 Waterville GC Waterville Ireland 1988 18 9.5 80 60.0 ~
29 The Dragon GC at Nakoma Clio USA 2005 18 9.5 78 ~ ~
30 Harbour Town Links Hilton Head USA 2008 18 9.5 78 ~ ~
31 Lahinch GC -- Championship Lahinch Ireland 1988 18 9.5 78 41.0 ~
32 Enniscrone GC Enniscrone Ireland 2016 27 9.5 81 ~ ~
33 Spyglass Hill GC Carmel USA 1978 18 9.5 87 ~ 67.0
34 Highland Links Ingonish Canada 1987 18 9.5 75 94.0 ~
35 Portstewart GC -- Strand Portstewart UK 2013 18 9.5 78 ~ ~
36 Gleneagles Queens Auchterarder UK 1972 18 9.5 78 ~ ~
37 Gleneagles Kings Auchterarder UK 1972 18 9.5 84 100.0 ~
38 Wentworth West Virginia Water UK 1972 18 9.5 86 ~ ~
39 Prestwick GC Prestwick UK 1972 18 9.5 94 89.0 ~
40 Riviera CC Los Angeles USA 1983 18 9.5 86 18.0 ~
41 North Berwick GC North Berwick UK 1972 18 9.5 84 23.0 ~
42 Kauai Lagoons GC Kiele Kauai USA 1989 18 9.5 74 ~ ~
43 Prince Golf Club Kauai USA 2001 18 9.5 74 ~ ~
44 Royal Troon GC Troon UK 1972 18 9.5 76 53.0 ~
45 St George's G&CC Toronto Canada 1988 18 9.5 80 32.0 ~
46 Circling Raven GC Worley USA 2005 18 9.5 71 ~ ~
47 County Sligo GC Rosses Point Ireland 2013 18 9.0 77 91.0 ~
48 Tobiano GC Kamloops Canada 2008 18 9.0 74 90.0 ~
49 St. Enodoc GC Rock England 2009 18 9.0 78 82.0 ~

The chart below shows the world rank (2023) for courses in Mike’s top-50 favorites. He’s played 26 of the top-100 courses in the world, including 5 of the top-10. Royal County Down claims the world number 1 title and is also Mike’s personal favorite course.

The Bottom of the Barrel#

It’s also worth looking at the lowest rated courses played. This list includes 18-hole courses. Not surprisingly, the majority of these courses are in British Columbia, and particularly the Lower Mainland. Might as well rattle off all the local courses.

City Country Year Played Holes Personal Rating Best Score
Course Name
Greenacres Richmond Canada 1982 18 4 75.0
Newlands Langley Canada 1973 18 4 79.0
Delta GC Delta Canada 1993 18 4 71.0
Meadow Gardens GC Pitt Meadows Canada 1984 18 5 71.0
Pajaro Valley Golf Course Watsonville USA 2013 18 5 75.0
Grantown on Spey GC Grantown UK 1972 18 5 79.0
Yellowknife GC Yellowknife Canada 2018 18 5 NaN
Cultus Lake GC Cultus Lake Canada 2007 18 5 64.0
Sunnydale GC Comox Canada 2003 18 5 74.0
Mission Creek GC Kelowna Canada 1988 18 5 59.0
Pineridge GC Kamloops Canada 1993 18 5 60.0
Coyote Creek GC Surrey Canada 1993 18 5 60.0
Discovery Harbor GC Hawaii USA 1996 18 5 80.0
Tall chief GC Fall City USA 1989 18 5 67.0
Michaelbrook Ranch Kelowna Canada 1989 18 5 56.0
Langara golf course Vancouver Canada 1967 18 5 70.0
Fraserview golf course Vancouver Canada 1967 18 5 69.0
Wimbledon Common GC London UK 1972 18 5 NaN
The Fort GC Fort Langley Canada 1983 18 5 74.0
Guildford golf course Surrey Canada 1982 18 5 69.0